Libéma Open 2023 Women's Report

While the women's tournament at the 2023 Libéma Open boasted big names in the lineup, including defending champion Ekatarina Alexandrova, former world number one Viktoria Azarenka, and former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu, the spotlight was on another player. Venus Williams received a wildcard from the organizers and showed up in Rosmalen to play her first top-level match since January, at the age of 42. This was a major upset for the tournament organizers, who, with the oldest member of the Williams sisters, brought in a seven-time Grand Slam champion. Moreover, Venus won three gold medals at the Olympic Games alongside her sister Serena Williams.

First round Venus Williams

Williams, who turned 43 during the tournament, had a relatively favorable draw and was scheduled to play against Celine Naef of Switzerland, who is 25 (!) years younger. Williams, who has since dropped to ^701st in the world, started her match against the Swiss well, quickly winning the first set 6-3. In the second set, the American also seemed poised for victory, holding a 4-2 lead, but Naef fought back and won the tiebreak. In the third and deciding set, fatigue began to affect Williams, and the young Swiss ultimately took the win. It was thus the first and last match of the 2023 Libéma Open for Williams, who suffered an early exit under the watchful eye of her sister Serena.

Highlights Libéma Open 2023

While Williams was present at the 2023 Libéma Open, Karolina Muchova and Elina Svitolina withdrew from the tournament in Rosmalen. Both players had advanced far at Roland Garros 2023 and were unable to return to the Brabant grass in time. This was, however, the case for Lesley Pattinama-Kerkhove, the only Dutch player in the main draw of the women's singles tournament. She faced Australian Kimberly Birrel (WTA-117), but our compatriot lost the match 6-1/6-4. The other Dutch players who participated in the qualifying rounds, namely Anouk Koevermans, Eva Vedder, Lexie Stevens, and Jasmijn Gimbrere, did not make it to the main draw.

In that main draw, Alison Riske-Amritraj was eliminated in the first round – just like Williams and Pattinama-Kerkhove. The former winner in Rosmalen faced Veronika Kudermetova, but had to retire early due to injury. The seeded players all managed to advance to the next round. Azarenka won her match against Natalija Stevanovic, Liudmila Samsonova defeated Lena Papadakis, and Alexandrova defeated her compatriot Evgeniya Rodina.

Azarenka must retire early

While Azarenka won her first match in straight sets, the next round was the end of the road for the experienced Belarusian. The world number nineteen faced Ashlyn Krueger (WTA-152), who had remarkably little trouble with Azarenka. After an hour and fifteen minutes, the score was 6-3/6-2, and elimination for the third-seeded Azarenka was a certainty. Another notable event was the early exit of Andreescu, the sixth-seeded player at the 2023 Libéma Open. Andreescu faced nine set points in the first set of her match against Viktoria Hruncakova, but failed to capitalize on them all. Hruncakova converted her first set point, winning the first set via tiebreak. In the following set, Andreescu led 0-2, only to lose it again. The world number 37 then saw the second set and thus the match go to Hruncakova (WTA-144) 6-3.

Hruncakova then won her next round against Krueger, while Kudermetova easily defeated Naef in the quarterfinals. Alexandrova had no trouble with Emina Bektas (WTA-150), which meant she would face Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her semifinal. The Belarusian, who defeated the second seed with Samsonova, didn't give Alexandrova any trouble in the semifinals, winning her match 6-1, 7-6, thus qualifying for the final of the 2023 Libéma Open. There, she would face Kudermetova, who defeated Hruncakova 6-3, 6-2 in her semifinal.

Libéma Open 2023 Final

The women's final of the 2023 Libéma Open was thus between the top-seeded Kudermetova and defending champion Alexandrova, who battled it out in Rosmalen for nearly three hours. Kudermetova took the first set, breaking her compatriot twice to win 6-4. A thrilling second set followed, with Alexandrova twice stealing her opponent's serve, taking the set 6-4. A third set was needed to decide the match, and this set turned into a thriller that ultimately lasted nearly an hour and fifteen minutes. Alexandrova had already missed two match points earlier, but still managed to win the tiebreak and win the deciding set 7-6, effectively defending her title and adding the overall victory at the 2023 Libéma Open to her list of achievements.